“Zeraiah!” My voice cracked, torn between rage and despair. “You, of all people, should bloody know better than Zaeem—”
“Shouldn’t you be happy?” His brows furrowed. “You two have been close lately, haven’t you?” His voice was rising. “What’s the fucking matter—”
“This is different!” I exploded, my voice breaking with fury. “You know she can’t set foot in this place.” My eyes darted between them, desperate. I really wanted to scream at them so they wouldlistento me. “Especially while Dad is in this house!”
Zeraiah flinched, his lips pressed tight. His gaze flickered from me to Zaeem, his throat working as he swallowed hard.
“Mas Zaeem already spoke to me, Zi…” Zeraiah’s voice trembled. “You’re not the only one who hates him. I hate him more than you do. But—” He shook his head, looking torn. “But maybe we’ve been wrong all along. Maybe Dad isn’t as—”
Before he could finish, I seized his collar and yanked him forward, snarling in his face. I didn’t need his doubts. I didn’t need his soft heart.
Not when it was Tshabina’s life at stake.
They kept hiding and denying, unable to bear the belief that our father could be a monster. But he was.
He’d been our damnation for years.
“While I’m still sane… tell them not to come.Now.” My gaze flicked between him and Zaeem.
“Zioh—”
Before either of them could speak, the noise from downstairs rose—voices, movement, and a car horn, the kind of sound that leaves no doubt.
Tshabina and Tsabinu were here.
Shoving Zeraiah aside, I stormed out, leaving them both in my wake. The hallway blurred, heat flooding my veins. I stepped into the lift and hammered the button, pacing like a caged animal as it dragged me down, floor after floor. Everything was too slow, too bloody slow.
When the doors finally opened, I rushed into the parking area, my eyes darting.
And there—the car that just pulled in.
It stopped. And she stepped out.
Tshabina.
She was radiant. Her white lace blouse caught the light, intricate as frost. A floral skirt hugged her waist, cascading down with pink blossoms; it was the first time since my return that I had seen the colour pink on her. Her grace was maddening—serene, beautiful.
But I had to break it.
I was at her side in an instant, seizing her arm and shoving her back towards the car.
She turned, startled. “Zioh—” she began, but I cut her off. My eyes snapped to Tsabinu, who had exited the driver’s seat.
“Are you going to take her home, or me?” I saidin a rush.
I was hanging by a thread, and the thread was tearing. If I lost it, my sanity would be gone. Again.
She had to leave. Far from here. Far from this hell.
Both of them froze, staring. Tshabina’s eyes widened when my figure came into her clear view, and she saw the state I was in.
Tsabinu stayed frozen for far too long. His eyes flicked between me, his sister, and my grip on her arm. Silent. Calculating.
Every second stretched, and my pulse was a thunderous drum. He stood there, studying a bloody equation, while I fought with all my strength to hold myself together.
Enough.
With a violent tug, I pulled Tshabina closer. “Fine. It’s me then.”
